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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. branch — a division
  5. fine — all right
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. fine — high quality
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. court — of a king
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. plane — a tool
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. court — of law
  16. spring — of water
  17. clip — for paper
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. court — for sport
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. branch — of a bank

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com